Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

[Nyarlathotep]

How did you receive that update? Did you have to message them on Kickstarter?

For what it's worth, my notice of shipment came direct from a Fosiaudio dot com email account on 6/18, with shipment tracking information.

Kickstarter campaigns are typically a mix of communication via emails (sometimes via KS emails or by shipping outfits, logistics companies, and/or the campaign creators), so keep an eye in your spam filters for any and all of these. Another helpful place for information is on the KS site at the campaign page in the comments section (note: there is often a lot of griping and suppositions, so weigh all of it with a healthy dose of salt). Usually there is a good bit of chatter, this particular campaign has 495 comments as of now. This channel can get to be quite busy when things are not progressing to people's satisfaction and the creator isn't providing timely updates. Sadly, this is very, very common, and usually shows the creator's team is quite possibly swamped with backers overwhelming their comms resources.

In all honestly, while this is a bit frustating, this is by far one of the more smooth, timely campaigns. My guess is Fosi has some items that are not available for shipping as early as they had forecasted. This is very common with KS campaigns. This can create lots of gripes from some that they have been forgotten, overlooked, skipped, etc...

 

[early rejecter]

In all honestly, while this is a bit frustating, this is by far one of the more smooth, timely campaigns.

That’s been my experience too, which is why I’ve been surprised by some of the negative comments here.

Regarding the delay caused by the power filter: it’s interesting to see that it’s impacting people who ordered a 10A power supply for each amp, as the initial communication seemed to indicate that the filter was designed specifically to address issues when using a single power supply with two amps.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

That’s been my experience too, which is why I’ve been surprised by some of the negative comments here.

Regarding the delay caused by the power filter: it’s interesting to see that it’s impacting people who ordered a 10A power supply for each amp, as the initial communication seemed to indicate that the filter was designed specifically to address issues when using a single power supply with two amps.

Yeah, it seems like this concern, voiced by backers/forum commenters, came up late in the campaign. So perhaps in an attempt to mitigate the concern, they may have inadvertently tripped up their schedule for backers with 10A PSs due to the by the volume of filters they need?

 

[DavidM1]

Yeah, it seems like this concern, voiced by backers/forum commenters, came up late in the campaign. So perhaps in an attempt to mitigate the concern, they may have inadvertently tripped up their schedule for backers with 10A PSs due to the by the volume of filters they need?

Just for clarity, the noise issue was first raised by a YT influencer who published a video at the same time as the other influencers, which was as the campaign opened. I think Fosi’s response has been generous in finding a filter and including it at no charge and it appears they’ve communicated with individual backers who’ve contacted them.

It must be tempting for all kickstarter campaigns to over promise on delivery. This thread has been going for almost 3 months.

 

[AaronJ]

I think this needs to be moved to a new impressions/frustrations/complaints thread.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Just for clarity, the noise issue was first raised by a YT influencer who published a video at the same time as the other influencers, which was as the campaign opened. I think Fosi’s response has been generous in finding a filter and including it at no charge and it appears they’ve communicated with individual backers who’ve contacted them.

It must be tempting for all kickstarter campaigns to over promise on delivery. This thread has been going for almost 3 months.

Oh for sure, but this is a very brief, clean KS by KS standards. Most take months or years to culminate to a delivery. I have had KS campaigns that went waaaay over on delivery, one went to 5 years past initial estimated delivery. The comments section hit nearly 13K entries, and towards the end, oh boy were they salty.

That all said, by 2x Monos and 2x 5A PSs arrived today. Looking forward to putting them through their paces this weekend. Fit and finish looks good at a glance.

 

[PJ_Schmidt]

My 2x Mono (no PS) arrived today. Exactly one week after ship notification (to MN).

 

[lxg208]

I set up mine today. They run very warm at 111F(43C). Is this within normal range?

 

[Megaken]

I set up mine today. They run very warm at 111F(43C). Is this within normal range?

That's about average

 

[whaardahl]

I am very frustrated. I was backer #487 and I haven't received any communication re: shipment of my V3 Mono amps. I emailed them and was initially asked to be patient, and advised that my amp would likely ship on the 20th. Sent another very respectful inquiry and have not received any response. My payment was processed on My 29th. I'm disposed to think kindly of Fosi Audio and am not sure what to make of this. Thought I'd post this here because I'm not seeing ithe issue raised anywhere else.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

I am very frustrated. I was backer #487 and I haven't received any communication re: shipment of my V3 Mono amps. I emailed them and was initially asked to be patient, and advised that my amp would likely ship on the 20th. Sent another very respectful inquiry and have not received any response. My payment was processed on My 29th. I'm disposed to think kindly of Fosi Audio and am not sure what to make of this. Thought I'd post this here because I'm not seeing ithe issue raised anywhere else.

I am not trying to excuse Fosi communication gaps in the commentary below, just setting expectations:

You are definitely not in any way the only person raising these concerns, for sure. There is a large number of comments in this thread, and in the Kickstarter comments section, along the same lines as yours. While, this would be a very frustrating experience with a retailer, which by design are logistically capable of shipping hundreds, thousands+ packages/day, this is a crowd sourced product, shipped direct from a small scale manufacturer. This is par for the course for crowd sourced projects.

With regards to payment, Kickstarter projects always collect at the end of the campaign, not when an item ships, so there can be weeks, months, or even years between collection and receipt of the product. That's the point of crowd sourcing, it allows a manufacturer to minimize risk, and place that risk back on the buyers. Its just the nature of the arrangement. If it is not ones preference to be involved in those risks, I would generally recommend waiting for products like this to hit the market through normal retail channels, well after the crowd sourcing has come to an end and the manufacturer has put the product in regular production and built up stock.

That all said, Fosi generally has a good customer service reputation, so I am sure they will get around to everyone in due time. I imagine they are just swamped with shipping and communications, and of course the 10A PS filter supply wrinkle. I would just calmly follow-up with them, and they should respond in due time.

 

[Joe Smith]

All of this is why I don't do Kickstarters...happy to wait for a product to actually come to market and have real-world user reviews before purchasing. Don't need to be the first to get/use something, I'd rather wait and not get caught up in the "gotta have it" rush. Fosi didn't really need to do this as a Kickstarter IMO, it was just a way to gauge initial interest from our specific user base, to determine if they wanted to make the product...a kind of high-level "market research," if you will.

 

[drmevo]

I am very frustrated. I was backer #487 and I haven't received any communication re: shipment of my V3 Mono amps. I emailed them and was initially asked to be patient, and advised that my amp would likely ship on the 20th. Sent another very respectful inquiry and have not received any response. My payment was processed on My 29th. I'm disposed to think kindly of Fosi Audio and am not sure what to make of this. Thought I'd post this here because I'm not seeing ithe issue raised anywhere else.

I'm very close in backer number to you and I haven't received anything either. I know it's not because of what I ordered because plenty of others with the same exact order/reward choice have already received them. It shouldn't be location, others in the states with much higher numbers have received theirs. I'm not exactly frustrated, but they certainly didn't go by backer number like they said they would, which is just a little annoying. I filled out my survey within 20 minutes of receiving the email. I wonder if they went alphabetical by name - I'm near the end of the alphabet.

 

[gwing]

All of this is why I don't do Kickstarters...happy to wait for a product to actually come to market and have real-world user reviews before purchasing.

This is the first time I've bothered with a Kickstarter myself and I'm not unhappy (yet) despite not having received anything so far about my delivery. After all I was backer 1000+ and however long it takes to complete the kickstarter orders it should still be quicker than waiting for the commercially available products, and cheaper. Hopefully.

A bit of patience is good for the soul or so I keep telling myself

 

[Nyarlathotep]

All of this is why I don't do Kickstarters...happy to wait for a product to actually come to market and have real-world user reviews before purchasing. Don't need to be the first to get/use something, I'd rather wait and not get caught up in the "gotta have it" rush. Fosi didn't really need to do this as a Kickstarter IMO, it was just a way to gauge initial interest from our specific user base, to determine if they wanted to make the product...a kind of high-level "market research," if you will.

Totally agree with you on the marketing/gauging tactic, and risk ducking. Its become increasingly common for smaller/boutique producers to go this route. Love it or hate it, it is not uncommon anymore. Fortunately, with Fosi, it is likely they will put these products into regular production after these campaigns.

For some crowd source products, one doesn't know if he producer will continue to manufacture items. This sets off some people's FOMO at the chance for a one time production run or limited run add-ons. I don't mind a few crowd sourced campaigns here and there, I just know to set expectations on delivery timelines and the possibility of complications or failed projects.

 

[rgpit]

It certainly be nice if FOSI would step in here and update us what is going on.

 

[Negatywny]

yeah it would be nice, i'm number #145 and I'm starting to get irritated...

 

[early rejecter]

It certainly be nice if FOSI would step in here and update us what is going on.

We pretty much know what’s going on, I think? They’re packing and shipping rewards to over 1800 backers. The V3 stereo version campaign had fewer than 200 backers and that one took about three weeks to fulfill after the address surveys went out; it doesn’t seem unusual that a campaign with almost 10x as many backers is taking a bit longer.

 

[Negatywny]

yeah the campaign was founded it three days, the product was finished before it started, and they almost already knew the estimated number of backers. So two months is enough to build a city in china, not to mention the integrated circuit on a 10cm board, this is not craftsmanship and handwork. They had time and knowledge to prepare for whats to come. They have time to promote other products, they should have time to explain the situation. And last but not least, why backer number 7 gets served after backer number 2000?

 

[Talisman]

I'm starting to get annoyed too, the dozens of messages from irritated users irritate me.
Campaigns on KS are not purchases from the retailer, if you don't like it don't use KS.
Personally I have used KS to support a manufacturer who is putting a lot of effort into designing economical and high-performance components, introducing important innovations and listening to customer feedback, those who do not have this interest should not proceed with KS, they should wait for the product to go live sale on standard commercial platforms and proceed with the purchase.
All these complaints are not only annoying to read but also make no sense, because as others have written, the reward isn't even guaranteed in theory!